Chapter 135

Chapter 135:

The study was dim, smelling of old leather and Marcus’s stale cigar smoke. I moved quickly, my fingers tracing the edges of the desk, the bookshelves, the painting above the fireplace.

Then I found it. A safe, hidden behind a false panel in the bookcase.

My heart hammered against my ribs. This was it. The ledgers. The evidence.

I knelt and studied the digital keypad. Four digits. A date? A code?

I tried Marcus’s birthday. Error. Victoria’s. Error. The date of the Pack’s founding. Error.

I pressed my forehead against the cool metal, frustration burning in my chest. Forty-eight hours — I had less than twenty-four left, and I was no closer to finding anything.

A floorboard creaked behind me.

I spun around.

Victoria Hyde stood in the doorway, one hand pressed to her chest, her eyes wide. She was wearing a silk robe, her graying hair loose around her shoulders. For a moment, neither of us moved.

𝖩𝗈i𝗇 𝗍𝗵𝘦 c𝗼𝘮𝗆𝘶n𝗶𝘁𝘺 𝘢𝘁

“Adella,” she whispered. “What are you doing p>

I straightened, my mind racing for an excuse. “I… I was looking for a book. I couldn’t sleep p>

She stared at me. Then her gaze dropped to the safe, still glowing red with failed attempts.

The silence stretched, agonizing.

“It won’t open,” Victoria said quietly. “Not for you. Not for anyone but him p>

I waited for her to call for Braydon, to raise the alarm. But she didn’t move.

“Why are you here, Adella? Really p>

I could have lied. I should have lied. But something in her eyes — something tired, something broken — made me tell the truth.

“I’m looking for evidence. Proof of what your husband did. To my parents. To me p>

Victoria flinched as if I had struck her. For a long moment she simply stood there, her hand trembling against her chest.

Then she spoke, her voice so low I almost missed it.

“You won’t find it in there. He keeps that elsewhere p>

“Where p>

She shook her head. “I don’t know. He stopped trusting me years ago.” She paused, her eyes searching my face. “But there is something else. Something I’ve kept. Something that belonged to your mother p>

My heart stopped. “What p>

“Letters. Photographs. Things I took from the fire.” Her voice cracked. “I don’t know why I kept them. Guilt, maybe. Or maybe I always knew this day would come p>

“Where are they p>

“Hidden. Safe.” She glanced toward the door, listening for footsteps. “I can’t give them to you now. He’s watching. But if you’re still here tomorrow night… come to the attic. Midnight. I’ll leave the door unlocked p>

Before I could respond, footsteps echoed in the hallway. Braydon’s voice called for her from somewhere down the corridor.

Victoria’s face went pale. “Go. Now. And Adella—” She grabbed my arm, her grip surprisingly strong. “Be careful. He’s not just unstable. He’s dangerous p>

I slipped out through the service door just as Braydon’s footsteps reached the study. My heart was pounding, my thoughts racing ahead of me.

Tomorrow night. Midnight. The attic.

I had no idea whether I could trust her. But I had no other options.

Braydon